Chapter 22
Kendyll
(Present Day)
I’D HEARD ABOUT THE INFAMOUS Hell’s Gate more times than I could count.
Xander had frequented the place when I lived with him as a teenager.
Despite all I’d heard about the establishment, I’d never been to the demon club within Hell myself.
As I stood near the bar and looked around the heavily packed club, it … wasn’t what I’d imagined.
I’d expected corpses hanging upside down from the ceiling, perhaps even suspended by their exposed entrails. I’d envisioned fires raging around the room, chains with claimed souls bustling the tables, fights with “my dick is bigger” energy breaking out at every turn, and orgies galore.
What I hadn’t expected were sparkles, glitter, feathers, and pink.
Xander chuckled beside me, and I looked up to find him studying my perplexed grimace. “The club didn’t always look this way. It recently fell under new management, and Eden, well … she went a bit crazy redesigning the place.”
I squinted my blurry eyes and spotted some blobs that had to be demons getting handsy with each other and some dancing naked.
Even with my shit eyesight, I knew that blurry body part wouldn’t be bouncing around if its owner had on pants.
Despite the very free atmosphere, I still felt a bit underdressed in my oversized nightshirt, which only reached mid-thigh.
Not to mention, I’d left my glasses behind since Xander had brought me directly from the closet to where we stood now on the outskirts of the bustling dance floor and seating area.
Just as I was worrying about all of this, Xander held my glasses out to me with a soft and knowing grin. I accepted them and put them on just in time for him to hold out a pair of shorts and shoes for me to slip on.
“You think of everything,” I mused, tugging the shorts on and beneath the hem of my shirt.
“Only when it comes to you.” Instead of giving me a chance to respond in the dismissive way I typically did to such a statement, he gestured at the vibrant club and continued, “I hope this is okay. If you’re looking to get away, this place will certainly be a good distraction.”
I nodded. “It’s perfect.”
I wasn’t lying. In the past, whenever I showed such a horrible side of myself to Xander, I often went into flight mode.
I wanted to run from the truth of the nightmare while simultaneously running from the demon who was everything I wanted yet couldn’t have.
But tonight, I was too tired to run, so a distraction like this place, full of creatures I felt more at home with than my own kind, was exactly what I needed.
“Xandy,” a sing-songy voice called.
I turned just in time to see a sparkly demon bouncing in our direction with a wide smile and shimmering eyes.
Black horns stood amid her strawberry blonde hair, which practically flew behind her, and I feared that her gold minidress would snap along the seams from her blinding energy alone.
Her eyes, gold like Xander’s, moved past him to land on me. If possible, her glee only increased.
“Oh my Hell!” she gushed, her gaze ping-ponging between Xander and I. “Is this her? This is her, right? It’s totally her! Hi. I’m Eden. I’ve heard so much about you!”
“Um …” I blinked numerous times, too stunned to even process her rapid-fire words. Was this what whiplash felt like?
“Eden,” Xander admonished gently, taking time to enunciate each word. “We talked about this. You have to breathe between words, yeah?”
“Right,” she giggled and covered her laugh with her clawed fingers, which she’d painted pink instead of their natural black. “Right. Sorry.” She cleared her throat before waving at me. “I’m Eden. You’re Kendyll, right?”
My eyebrows nearly rose, but I managed to keep my face mostly even.
I wanted to glance at Xander, but I refrained.
He talked about me? To the point that this demon was already familiar with my name?
I couldn’t help but wonder what all he’d said about me, though judging by how happy Eden was, it was clearly only good or interesting things.
He’d probably told her about the girl he knew that could see and talk to ghosts and demons.
Finally, I nodded and confirmed her question. “Um, yes. Hi.”
“Ahh!” Eden squealed and grabbed Xander’s arm to shake him excitedly. “She’s even prettier than you made her out to be! Can I keep her?”
I did glance at Xander then. He’d told her I was pretty?
Xander glared at the demon turned leech. “She’s mine. Get your own.”
She puffed her cheeks in a pout, turning herself into a chipmunk with full cheeks. “None of you asshats ever want to share with me.”
“I share,” Xander argued. “Just not Kendyll.” Xander met my still shocked and confused expression. “Kendyll, this is one of my friends and the owner of Hell’s Gate.”
“Hi!” Eden sang, drawing out the word.
“Oh. So you’re the one who changed the …” I glanced around at the colorful strobe lights, velvet walls with gold picture frames of gothic inspiration, and the gold chains dangling from the ceiling without any gory bodies to spice them up. “The decor.”
She laughed. “You should’ve seen the place when Babette was still in charge. A total Hell fest. Dead people for tables and chairs, red and black everywhere, screaming souls dangling from the ceiling in cages. It was a complete bore.”
I pursed my lips and shared a look with Xander. I decided to keep to myself that I thought that sounded way cooler.
“You guys came just in time,” Eden announced. “The others are on their way here right now.”
“Others?” I asked with a lurch in my stomach.
“Yeah! The guys of Sinners Do It Better and their girlfriends.”
My nerves spiked. I knew the guys from years prior, and we were cordial.
But waking up from a nightmare of my past and being thrown into the deep end of a social swimming pool was …
a lot. Not to mention I was wearing pajamas.
What kind of first impression was that for the girlfriends of the demon rock band?
“Come on,” Xander said softly, placing a hand on the small of my back. “Let’s go grab you a seat and maybe a drink. Or we can go somewhere else if you want. Whatever you need.”
Being as cuddly as a cactus, I wasn’t very good at mingling with people.
Ghosts? Sure. Demons? Fine. But other humans was hard.
Maybe it was from all the years of being judged and analyzed like some science experiment or from my lack of friends growing up.
Whatever the reason, I hated having to socialize with my own kind.
But these were Xander’s friends. I didn’t want to come off bitchier than I probably already would by leaving right after finding out that they were coming.
Not that I cared about Xander or his stupid circle.
“We can stay,” I grumbled while adjusting my glasses and turning my face away from him.
“Yay!” Eden squealed. “I have to give you a heads up, though. All the girls were already over at Zagan and Iyla’s place, including our friend Addie, who doesn’t know about demons or anything like that.
They told her this is a sort of costume club, so you know …
pretend we’re all humans in costume like the boys do when they’re on stage. ”
“They’re bringing her?” Xander asked in disbelief.
“She was already there when I called and told them to come hang out. You know Addie. She loves a good time. They couldn’t come up with a reasonable excuse to suddenly back out after agreeing. It should be fine. I plan on getting her hella wasted, so any mishaps can be explained away by the booze.”
“How are they getting here since you can’t just drive to Hell?” Xander questioned.
For us to get here tonight, he had to draw a door in the air with his finger while summoning some sort of demon powers or something.
The outline glowed red before opening to a long hallway that led to this room we now stood in.
If the others had to get here the same way, I wasn’t sure how they’d do that in front of an oblivious human.
“They’re driving to a building downtown, and the girls are going to distract Addie while one of the guys turns that building’s door into a door to here.”
Xander nodded. “Okay then. This should be interesting.”
“So Addie is dating one of the guys but doesn’t know he’s a demon?” I asked in surprise.
“Oh, no,” Eden waved the idea away. “She’s not dating anyone. She’s just one of our best friends. Only four of the guys have girlfriends. Coldin is single.”
“As is Xander,” I retorted with a firm glare shot in his direction.
Xander clutched his chest like I’d ripped his heart out and stared at me with wide, pitiful eyes. “Ghost! You’re wounding me.”
“If you break up with Xander, pick me!” Eden beamed. “I’m a better Mischief demon and better at eating pussy.”
I stared at the demon as my face flamed hot. Meanwhile, Xander’s teasing light faded, and he shot an icy stare Eden’s way.
The bubbly demon held up her hands in surrender. “Woah! Scary. I’m kidding, kidding.” She moved to skip away, but when Xander turned his back on her, she stopped and silently mouthed with a smile, “No, I’m not.” She blew me a kiss before happily sauntering off.
“Sorry about her,” Xander apologized as he scratched his septum piercing sheepishly. “I didn’t anticipate you having to deal with her bubbly energy right as you got here.”
I blinked and blew out a small, short laugh. “I feel like I just downed a dozen energy drinks.”
Xander laughed. “Yeah. She’s a handful but harmless, even for a demon.”
“Even for a demon? In my experience, demons aren’t anything to be afraid of.”
He slipped his hand into mine and guided me toward the bar. “Some are, Ghost. Some are.”
Xander pulled out a bar stool for me. Instead of taking a seat next to me, he remained standing with one arm around me and the other braced on the bar. It was like he stood at the ready to shield me from anyone who came too close.